Harden: Rockets need to halt trend of giving away games

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James Harden has watched the up-and-down Rockets give away winnable games this season. The Houston shooting guard said Wednesday his young team can’t afford to do the same against the Philadelphia 76ers.

With the inconsistent 76ers living life without injured center Andrew Bynum and potentially without star guard Jrue Holiday (foot) for a 7 p.m. game tonight at Toyota Center, Houston (12-12) has a strong opportunity to capture its fourth win in five attempts and enjoy two off days before facing Memphis at home on Saturday.

The Rockets respect a Doug Collins-coached 76ers (12-13) squad, which is led by do-it-all guard Evan Turner, athletic small forward Thaddeus Young and gritty center Spencer Hawes. But Houston’s coming off an impressive 109-96 road victory against New York on Monday. And with the Jeremy Lin-Harden combination beginning to click, Harden knows the Rockets can’t take another step backward.

“The games that we know we can win, we have to win. Philly’s a very good team, especially defensively,” said Harden, following shootaround at Toyota Center. ”We’re going to have to share the ball and just play very well. The Rockets are expected to start Lin, Harden, Chandler Parsons, Marcus Morris and Omer Asik against the 76ers.

Philadelphia started Nick Young, Jason Richardson, Turner, Young and Kwame Brown on Tuesday during a 107-100 road loss to Dallas.

“They historically don’t beat themselves,” said Rockets coach Kevin McHale, referring to the 76ers. “I’ve often felt in this league if you don’t beat yourself you put yourself into a position to win a lot of games. Now, do you win them? No. But you’re not giving away games.”

D-Mo returns to roster

Rockets rookie center Donatas Motiejunas was called up Tuesday from the NBA Development League. Motiejunas’ time with Rio Grande Valley improved his confidence, which was shaken after being stuck at the bottom of Houston’s rotation.

“When you step on the court, you have confidence,” Motiejunas said. “Sitting on the bench for a longer time kills your confidence. At least (in the Development League) you get a feeling for the game.”

McHale said Motiejunas’ role with the Rockets will be an in-game decision. But with forward Patrick Patterson (foot) still out, the 7-footer from Lithuania could see increased action.

The Rockets’ up-tempo offense has been the team’s early-season savior. Houston’s defense continues to be an issue, though, and the Rockets will have to lock in against an athletic 76ers squad. Still, Philadelphia has struggled to score this season — the 76ers rank 26th out of 30 teams in average scoring (92.8) — which could give Houston’s work-in-progress defense a breather.

Lin and Harden continue to bond

Harden said the duo hasn’t had a private gathering the last week, but they’ve continued to talk and discuss their on-the-court relationship. Lin asserted that he and his high-scoring teammate want the same things. When their pairing has worked, offensive ball movement and floor spacing have been key.

“It’s only been (24) games. Hopefully we can build it,” Harden said. “We’ve kind of had some success these last couple games.”

White remains away from team

One player who won’t soon help the Rockets is troubled rookie forward Royce White. McHale had little interest in discussing White on Wednesday.

“I hope that Royce just gets himself ready to come in and be part of an NBA team,” McHale said.